Reviewing short SF since 2000
Charming little story told by a boy in a near future, post-Greaning, who relates a visit from a Robot from the Future, in search of the fabled gas-o-line in order to return to it’s own time (in the far future).
The teen heroine finds love in a very unexpected place.
Surprisingly affecting short.
The publishers are at pains to point out that whilst this issue is dated ‘June/July’
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction finishes 2009 with an issue of their now
Reed, Wightman and O’Driscoll are the cream of the crop, with Kessel’s new story, Bisson and Cowdrey not quite up to their (well-established) best.
Albert E. Cowdrey. Inside Story. Retired Detective Sergeant Alphonse Fournet finds the lure of work,
Chris Willrich. Penultima Thule. Gaunt and Bone return for more cod-fantasy fun, the story being
R. Garcia y Robertson. Kansas, She Says, Is the Name of the Star. Garcia y
Matthew Hughes. A Herd of Opportunity. Another tale of Guth Bandar, this one evidently from
Gary W. Shockley. The Cathedral of Universal Biodiversity. One of those stories where either I’m
Robert Reed. Less Than Nothing. Reed further develops the story of the boy Raven, one
Chock full of protein for the brain, with only a bit of excess fat and carbohydrate. To burn off those calories I’m off for a bit of ‘fast-paced’ Asimov’s action…..
Judith Moffett. The Bear’s Baby. Moffett has written a couple of novels featuring the Hefn,
Charles Coleman Finlay. A Democracy of Trolls. Not an obvious collective noun for the rock-dwelling
One Last Game. Robert Reed. Another story from Reed, who has taken over the baton
Stories by : Bruce Sterling, Gene Wolfe., Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Gwyneth Jones, Ian McDonald, James Van Pelt, Johanna Sinisalo, John Hemry, John Kessel, Kage Baker, Karen Joy Fowler, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Ken MacLeod, Marc Laidlaw, Nancy Kress, Palle Juul Holm, Peter Watts, Robin Hitchock, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Tim Pratt, Tony Ballantyne, William Shunn.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Carol Emshwiller, Charlie Rosenkrantz, Claude Lalumiere, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, Edd Vick, Eileen Gunn, Gardner R Dozois, Gregory Benford, Heather Lindsley, Ian Creasey, Ian R. Macleod, Joe Haldeman, Kameron Hurley, Liz Williams, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Flynn, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Reed, Rudy Rucker, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Wil McCarthy.
Stories by : Bradley Denton, Brenda Cooper, Charles Coleman Finlay, Gene Wolfe., Glenn Grant, Gregory Benford, Jack McDevitt, James Patrick Kelly, James Stoddard, James. L. Cambias, Janeen Webb, Jean-Claude Dunyach, Ken Liu, Liz Williams, matthew hughes, Neal Asher, Pamela Sargent, Ray Vukcevich, Robert Reed, Sean McMullen, Steve Tomasula, Steven Utley, Terry Bisson.
Stories by : A.M. Dellamonica, Bruce Sterling, Carol Emshwiller, Charles Sheffield, Charles Stross, Eleanor Arnason, Gene Wolfe., Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, J.R. Dunn, Jack Williamson, Ken Wharton, Michael Moorcock, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Neal Asher, Paul Di Filippo, Richard Chwedyk, Robert Onopa, Robert Reed, Robert Sheckley, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Brian W. Aldiss, David Morrell, Edward M. Lerner, Gene Wolfe., Gregory Benford, James Morrow, James Patrick Kelly, Lisa Goldstein, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Richard Chwedyk, Simon Ings, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Terry Dowling, Thomas M. Disch, Ursula K. Le Guin.
Stories by : Barry N. Malzberg, Brian Aldiss, Brian M. Stableford, Chris Beckett, Chris Lawson, Cory Doctorow, Curt Wohleber, Elisabeth Malartre, Fred Lerner, G. David Nordley, Gene Wolfe, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Hiroe Suga, Kim Stanley Robinson, Lucy Sussex, Mary Soon Lee, Michael Bishop, Michael Swanwick, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Reed, Sarah Zettel, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Tom Purdom
Brian Stableford, Gene Wolfe., Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Jack Williamson, James Patrick Kelly, John C. Wright, Katherine McLean, Kim Newman, Michael Moorcock, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul Levinson, R. Garcia y Robertson, Ray Bradbury, Robert Silverberg, S.N. Dyer, Terry Bisson, Tom Cool., Tom Purdom, William Gibson
Stories by : Allen Steele, Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, Connie Willis, Damon Knight, Dave Wolverton, David Langford, Gene Wolfe., Gregory Benford, Gwyneth Jones, James Patrick Kelly, Joanna Russ, John Brunner, Kate Wilhelm, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Robert Reed, Sheila Finch, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Yves Meynard.
Stories by : Albert E Cowdrey, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Brendan Dubois, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Christopher Rowe, Colin P. Davies, Daniel Abraham, David Moles, Eleanor Arnason, James Patrick Kelly, James. L. Cambias, Kage Baker, M. John Harrison, Mary Rosenblum, Michael F. Flynn, Nancy Kress, Paolo Bacigalupi, Pat Murphy, Paul Di Filippo, Paul Melko, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Vandana Singh, Vernor Vinge, Walter Jon Williams, William Sanders.
Stories by : Charles Stross, Dominic Green, Geoff Ryman, Geoffrey A. Landis, Harry Turtledove, Howard Waldrop, Jack Skillingstead, James Van Pelt, John C. Wright, John Kessel, John Varley, Judith Moffett, Kage Baker, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, M. Shayne Bell, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Nick DiChario, Paolo Bacigalupi, Paul Di Filippo, Paul Melko, Robert Reed, Steven Popkes, Terry Bisson, Terry Dowling, Vernor Vinge, Walter Jon Williams, William Barton, William Shunn.
Stories by : Allen M. Steele, Brian Stableford, Dan Simmons, David Marusek, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Ian R. Macleod, James Patrick Kelly, Joe Haldeman, John Kessel, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael F. Flynn, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Paul J. McAuley, Poul Anderson, Robert Reed, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Sanders.
Stories by : Brian Stableford, Eliot Fintushel., Geoff Ryman, George Turner, Greg Egan, Howard Waldrop, Joe Haldeman, Katherine Kerr, Lisa Goldstein, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Bishop, Michael F. Flynn, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Walter Jon Williams, William Sanders
Stories by : Arthur C. Clarke, Bradley Denton, Connie Willis, Frederik Pohl, Greg Egan, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, Ian Watson, Joe Haldeman, Jonathon Lethem, Kate Wilhelm, Kathe Koja, L. Sprague de Camp, Lukas Jaeger, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Neal Barrett Jr, Pat Cadigan, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Steven Utley, Terry Bisson, Tom Maddox.
Stories by : Alexander Jablokov, Bruce Sterling, Charles Sheffield, Connie Willis, Greg Egan, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, James Patrick Kelly, Joe Haldeman, John Brunner, John Kessel, Jonathan Lethem, Kate Wilhelm, Lewis Shiner, Lucius Shepard, Michael Moorcock, Molly Gloss, Mr. Skunk, Nancy Kress, Pat Murphy, Robert Frazier, Robert Silverberg, Ted Chiang, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin.
A nice volume to own – make sure that the nice white cover doesn’t get dirty though!
Stories by : Connie Willis, Harlan Ellison, Jack Cady, Joe Haldeman, John Kessel, Terry Bisson, Charles Shieffield, Lisa Goldstein
Stories by : Alan Brennert, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Karen Joy Fowler, Mike Conner, Nancy Kress, Susan Shwartz, Terry Bisson, W. Gregory Stewart
Stories by : Dafydd ab Hugh, Ian MacLeod, Joe Haldeman, Karen Joy Fowler, Martha Soukoup, Pat Murphy, Ted Chiang, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin.
So, a resounding recommendation from me on this one, with PS Publishing continuing their strong run of form. Read it and weep.
A nice volume to have on the shelves, with a wide range of quality content which showcases a wide range of SF, and high production values. The high price and limited print run will restrict the volume to collectors, but as the stories aren’t originals, we can’t complain that the average SF reader is being deprived.
F&SF have been producing anthologies since 1952 – annual anthologies for the first quarter century,